Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
by Rinikittybabe
Summary: When shy, artistic Missy transfers to Sweet Amoris, she's glad that her best friend Ken will be joining her. Encouraged by their friendship, she promises she will be friendly at her new school. But then Ken's father learns that he is being bullied and makes Ken join the army, and everything changes. When Ken's away, what will she learn about their relationship, and herself?
1. Missy: Absence

We'd never been very popular, either one of us. I guess that's why the two of us got along so well. He'd been the dweeb and I'd been the shy little artistic girl who would rather spend the day with her notebook than hanging out with friends. Not that that had ever stopped Ken. I could remember the first day I'd met him. I'd been sitting on the steps with my notebook as usual. I liked to watch people and make character studies. My classmates never knew it, but a lot of them had made it into my stories already. Before I knew it, a boy with coke bottle glasses was sitting down next to me. I frowned, drawing my notebook closer to me. I'd always been afraid to let anyone else look at my writing. It wasn't very good. They'd just laugh, just like they laughed at the way I dressed and how shy I was. The boy next to me was smiling. It wasn't like the way most of my classmates smiled at me, a smile that said they thought they were better than me. It was a nice smile. A kind smile. I wrote that down in my notebook, causing him to look at me curiously. "What are you writing?"

I blushed, "Oh, nothing important... Just... stories..."

His smile widened. "Wow, that's amazing! Can I see?"

I shook my head vigorously, "No!"

His face took on a little pout. "Oh, I see... I'm sorry for prying..."

I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for my outburst. I hadn't meant to yell at him or make him feel sad. "What I mean to say is... I don't let anyone read my writing... It's... It's not very good..."

"That doesn't seem right. If you don't let anyone read it, how are you ever going to get any better?"

"I guess you're right..." I bit my lip a little.

"I didn't mean to make you sad... I know! How about a cookie? That always cheers me up!"

I giggled a little without even meaning to. "Thanks. Say, what's your name?"

"I'm Kentin."

"Kentin? I bet everyone calls you Ken!"

"Actually, I've never really had a nickname. But... I kind of like it..." He flashed another of his wide smiles at me. "And what's your name?"

"I'm Melissa."

"Melissa... So everyone probably calls you Missy!"

"I've never really had a nickname either. But if you want to call me Missy, that's okay with me."

We both laughed. That had been the start of our friendship. In so many ways, that friendship changed me. When I was with Ken, I was never afraid that he'd make fun of me. I'd always felt like I could be myself and so, little by little, I had begun to come out of my shell. By the time I had moved to Sweet Amoris, I had made a decision. I wanted to try to be a friendlier person. But still, I was glad that Ken was moving with me. His friendly smile gave me the strength to be brave. I didn't know what I'd do now that he was going to leave for the army.

I hugged the teddy bear he had given me to my chest, barely able to keep from crying. "I'll write you."

"I'm finally going to get to read your writing?"

I blushed. "Yeah." I had to keep smiling. He wouldn't want to see me sad, not when he had finally given me the courage to smile. My days Sweet Amoris High School and my days without Kentin were just beginning.


	2. Missy: Revenge

I hated Amber. I could honestly say that I'd never really hated anyone before I'd met her. Hating someone was a lot of work and for the most part I'd never really found it worth my effort. There had been plenty of people I disliked, plenty of people I avoided, but I'd never really wanted to take the time to get revenge on someone before. But I wanted revenge on Amber.

"What do you want to get revenge on her for," Iris had asked me. "It's not going to make things better."

"I know..." I traced my name on the cover of my notebook with my finger. The two of us were talking in the classroom after school. Iris was sitting backwards in her chair to look at me while I sat primly at my desk. "But it's just not fair."

"Don't you think you're kind of overreacting? It's just a picture, a juvenile prank. No one's even going to remember it in a few days."

"A picture?" I looked at her blankly. It took me a moment to remember what she was talking about. To be honest, the edits that had been made to my photo had barely even registered. It wasn't like I had never had to deal with that sort of thing before. There'd been bullies at my old school too. What Amber had done to me wasn't enough to upset me. No, it wasn't what she had done to me. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and quickly drew a hand up to my face to try and hide it. I'd let Iris see me cry, how shameful.

"Missy, are you okay?" Iris was looking at me with compassion in her eyes. She was a nice girl. I hadn't known her that long and I already liked her a lot, but one good friend was not a replacement for another.

"I don't care about what she did to my photo. She's welcome to take all of my photos and draw on them however she wants. Like you said, it's just a juvenile prank."

"Then why do you want to get revenge on her?" A sudden realization crossed her face. "This is about Ken, isn't it?"

I could feel my eyes watering and I knew that I was going to start blubbering if I wasn't careful. So much for being brave. So much for facing things with a smile. "I miss him so much."

Iris looked thoughtful for a minute before she spoke, "I think I have an idea."

* * *

To be honest, I felt silly. The clothes looked terrible on me. They were too frilly, too artificial, too posh. I was the type of girl who wore hats so she'd have something to hide under if someone ever decided to look her way. Trying to stand out just felt wrong. The observations I so loved to make relied on my invisibility. Until I met Ken, I'd never dreamed of trying to be anything else. This thought sobered me and reminded me why I was dressed like this in the first place. Confident. I just had to think confident.

It wasn't working. It seemed to work less and less as I saw Amber sashay towards me, her hips moving in time to some popular rhythm I had never been able to hear. It was only when she broke away from her group of friends that I remembered to smile. "Hello, Amber." I struggled to keep a tremble out of my voice, hating myself a little for how good I felt when I saw the horrified look on her face. Had I always been this petty?

"You little copycat! What do you think you're wearing?"

No, this wasn't petty. I thought about what she had done to Ken and pulled my best spiteful look. "Oh, these old things? I thought I'd buy some designer clothes, but I think I got ripped off, don't you? They're really last season, not to mention ugly." My blood felt like it had been injected with cold iron, but I had started on this path. I couldn't back down now.

Amber's face cooled into a sneer. "Yeah, they are pretty tacky; on _you_. Really, _Mel_-lissa," she drew my name out as if it was an insult, "you can't come up with your own style, so you have to copy someone else's? I suppose I should be flattered." Her hips gyrated past me and I could feel my cheeks burning with shame.

I wondered what Ken would do in my position. He would have smiled her words away. He never would have cared what Amber said about him. He certainly wouldn't have done what I was planning to do.


End file.
